Numerous articles and letters to the editor have recently related the importance of our historic institutions in Albany. These discussions in a public forum are just what the city needs. They highlight that Albany has a history that is unique in the country, which has not always been appreciated by our community.

Albany is the single city most responsible for victory in our war for independence. Boston started the Revolution, Albany saved it in the victorious Battle of Saratoga, and the rural residents of Virginia finished it. Occupying New York City and the colonial capital of Philadelphia did not win the war for the British; occupying Boston did not win the war for the colonists; but failure to capture Albany in the Battle of Saratoga did lose the war for the British. Every able-bodied male in Albany participated in this colonial victory. Gen. Philip Schuyler's money paid for it, and it was fought on land named after the Schuyler family.

The British themselves sowed the seeds of their defeat when they preserved our unique Dutch culture after conquering the Dutch colonies in 1664. The economic importance of Albany in preserving trade with the Indians resulted in the British giving Albany a charter in 1686. This has made Albany the oldest continuously chartered city in the country.

Albany does have history, and what remains needs to be preserved as a source of pride for our residents and as historical background to our continuing business interests.